Breaking/Building Habits is the new quartet of Danish, Oslo-based alto sax player-composer Amalie Dahl (the leader of Dafnie quntet, and member of Ingebright Håker Flaten’s (Exit) Knarr and Noize R Us quartet), featuring young Norwegian vibe player Viktoria Holde Søndergaard, guitarist Viktor Bomstad (of Sex Magick Wizards), and drummer Tore Ljøkelsøy. This band explores the relation between instant composition and free improvisation, mainly in a live situation. The self-titled debut album of Breaking/Building Habits was recorded live at Victoria / Nasjonal Jazzscene in Oslo in June 2024. The cover photo is by Lasse Marhaug.
Breaking/Building Habits relies on Dahl’s composed cells or building blocks, which are employed as seeds for the quartet’s extended, restless free improvisations. Dahl is the obvious leader of this quartet, and her gestures steer the band’s dynamics through unpredictable direction, but she is also a clever and generous bandleader who offers enough freedom and space for individual detours. The live setting is perfect for demonstrating Breaking/Building Habits aesthetics, and the performance at Victoria / Nasjonal Jazzscene in Oslo was indeed an extraordinary one.
Breaking/Building Habits offers three untitled, extended pieces. The first one is passionate and stormy and pushes the quartet to its extremes. The second one begins with a compassionate, conversational duo of Dahl and Søndergaard, which later gravitates into an almost mathematical dynamics of the whole quartet, before disintegrating into a wild, intense, and uncompromising improvisation and concludes with the tight, precise practice of the composed parts. The last piece begins with jumps through brief, intense eruptions and sudden stops, then shifts abruptly into quiet, meditative vibes, breathy sax, distorted guitar, and crackling percussive sounds that slowly accumulate into a fiery, playful free jazz improvisation toward the cathartic conclusion of this impressive album.
Eyal Hareuveni
Amalie Dahl (saxophone), Viktoria Søndergaard (vibraphone), Viktor Bomstad (electric guitar) Tore Ljøkelsøy (drums)
